Research Summaries

Back Coulomb Explosion of Metastable Clusters and Surfaces

Fiscal Year 2013
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Physics
Investigator(s) Hooper, Joseph P.
Sponsor Office of Naval Research (Navy)
Summary The goal of this program is to explore possible novel energy release mechanisms associated with the phenomenon of coulomb explosion, particularly in highly metastable Rydberg molecules and clusters. The coulomb explosion process involves rapid multiple ionization events driven by particle collision or by an intense laser field, usually on the order of 1015 W/cm2 or higher. Valence and even core electrons are stripped away in the process, leaving multiple charged ions that experience enormous mutual repulsion. This coulomb repulsion ejects the ions at very high energies, up to many keV. Our goal is to investigate whether it is possible to have a self-sustained reaction using a series of coulomb explosions in a highly metastable material with an extremely low work function such as a Rydberg molecule. Initial feasibility calculations will examine two key issues. First, we explore the most appropriate method to simulate the stability of these unusual systems, considering a range of approaches from timedependent DFT to purely analytical forms. Second, we examine whether loosely bound structures of Rydberg atoms may be a possible metastable system in which a chain coulomb explosion could conceivably be observed.
Keywords
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal